The Sustainability of Tablets

The Sustainability of Tablets With the adoption of tablets growing at a rapid pace, it is important to examine how these devices are impacting our natural resources and environment. Here's a look at some of the pros and cons. Decline in Printing 25% of adults in the US currently own tablets vs. 4% in 2010 (2) 79% say that the reduction in printing is the main benefit of using a tablet Around 45% of tablet users have decreased (2) their printing habits (1) An Eco-friendly Device While it's tougher on the environment to create an iPad rather than printing a book, the paper and water saved from reading content on tablets makes up for the initial CO2 emissions. Cleantech Group, 2012 (3) It takes 7 gallons of water to produce the average printed book. (4) A digital publication is created with less than 2 cups of water. (4) 48.4g CO2e Emissions per Hour of Product'Use (grams) 10.5g 10.5g 7.4g 2.5g 1.2g 13-Watt CFL 11" MacBook 60-Watt Incandescent Mac Mini iPad iPhone Air Lightbulb Lightbulb (5) The E-Waste Issue Pike Research estimates that by 2025 global e-waste will double to 25 million tons 2025 E-waste refers to electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life", for example, computers, televisions, VČRS, stereos, copiers, tablets... These devices often contain heavy metals like lead, cadmium, copper, and chromium. (7) 2010 (6) Stanford Top electronics manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, are implementing device recycling programs that let users trade their old devices for discounts on new ones. (8) Being Green VB ARHAUS Gouvernement STIFEL Saskatchewan FINANCIAL Cabinet ministers in Saskatchewan, Canada, are utilizing iPads to reduce paperwork. They expect to save $50k per year. JP Morgan Chase uses iPads for client presentations and expects to cut back paper costs by $3 - 5k per year. Furniture store Virginia City Arhaus uses iPads council uses iPads to facilitate to view meeting docs - cutting back $18k in printing costs every year. customer deliveries. The company expects to save $30k a year in paper costs. (9) Sources (1) http://www.morganstanley.com/views/perspectives/tablets_demand.pdf (2) http://appleinsider.com/artides/12/02/15/apples_ipad_driving accelerated_enterprise_transition_away_from_printing.html (3) http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/1012/ask_natural_life_paper_or_pixels.htm (4) http://freshminds.oversy.org/2012/05/photo-credit-tech-vs-tech.html (5) http://www.apple.com/environment (6) http://bgm.stanford.edu/pssi_faq ewaste (7) http://science.time.com/2012/03/08/e- waste-how-the-new-ipad-adds-to- electronic-garbage/ (8) http://www.apple.com http://www.samsung.com (9) http://www.webpronews.com/ipad- adoption-reducing-business-printer-use- 2012-02 created and sponsored by Aüberflip www.uberflip.com

The Sustainability of Tablets

How much of an impact does throwing out electronic have? Are tablets a better alternative to print? How much energy do they consume compared to other electronics? Check out the infographic and see for yourself.